CSA Report:  Blooming Glen Farm

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

(Click photo to read notes at flick’r regarding names/quantities of share.)

Well look at that—a Long Island Cheese Pumpkin.  Those farmers at Blooming Glen Farm seem to always have a surprise for us!  I have no idea what te future has in store for that pumpkin, but it’ll have to wait, as my kitchen is chock-full of wonderful, vitamin-rich, hearty and delicious root vegetables right now.  Here’s my go-to recipe for celeriac, rutabaga, carrots, parsnips, etc.:

Root Stew with Barley

3 tbs olive oil
2 onions, chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup pearled barley
4 cups vegetable stock
4 - 6 cups of scrubbed, but unpeeled* diced root veggies
1/2 - 1 cup of chopped fresh herbs (dill works well, but any one or two will work)

*Except the celeriac. Go ahead and peel those gnarly, dirty bad boys. Most of the nutrients in root vegetables live close to the surface; by peeling them you’ll inadvertently loose the good stuff.

Heat the oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until softened (about five minutes). Add the garlic and saute for about 30 seconds. Stir in barley and vegetable stock. Bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low, skim off any froth, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add root veggies.  Cover and simmer 20 to 25 minutes more, or until barley and vegetables are tender. Just before serving, stir in herbs. Salt and pepper to taste

.

So delicious and easy!

fall fruits + summer stuff in the freezer

Monday, September 28, 2009

This is a sour cherry cobbler from my new favorite cookbook, Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More, by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson.

It tastes as good as it looks. I had a few cups of sour cherries that I spent a night in June pitting—this made it worth the effort. There are many, many recipes to make (and riff from) in this book, so I thought I’d share with all of you. And, it’s organized by season. Sure, some of the recipes call for berries available only in the Northwest where the authors are from, but we are all champions at substituting, I think! I have apples from Rittenhouse Farmers Market in the fridge ready for apple pandowdy this weekend.

CSA Report:  Blooming Glen Farm

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

(Click photo to read notes at flick’r regarding names/quantities of share.)

I’ve been so happy to find my favorite salad green, arugula, at Blooming Glen Farm over the past two weeks.  We’re still picking herbs and flowers, and radishes made a reappearance this week.

That beautiful Cinderella squash and those tomatillos are going to become soups for a family dinner this Sunday night.

Cinderella Pumpkin Soup with Apples and Sage Oil
(From Whole Food Whole Family)
Ingredients
1 leek, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
about 1/3 of a large Cinderella pumpkin (or other variety), peeled and diced
4 apples, preferably Winesap or another sweet-tart variety, diced
enough vegetable broth or water to barely cover
2 T. maple syrup
1 T. cumin
2 t. coriander
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. crushed red pepper
1/4 c. chives, minced for garnish
Sage oil:
3 T. olive oil
large handful of sage leaves, stripped from the stem

Directions
1. Heat 1 T. oil in a soup pot and add the leek and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes, until softened, stirring regularly.
2. Add the squash and apples. Add broth to within an inch of the squash and apples. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the squash is very soft.
3. Stir in the spices and maple syrup and turn off the heat under the soup.
4. Heat the oil at a low temperature in a small pan. Add the sage leaves and infuse them for about 1 minute, until the have released their flavor and scent into the oil. Turn off the heat and allow the sage to continue infusing while the rest of the soup is prepared.
5. Transfer the soup in batches to a blender and process until smooth.
6. Return the soup to the pot and season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Strain out the leaves from the oil.
8. Serve the soup drizzled with sage oil and sprinkled with chives.

Tomatillo Soup
(From Vegan Diva)
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 large onion, sliced thin
4 jalapeno peppers, sliced in thin rounds (use less for a milder soup)
2 heaping teaspoons ground cumin
1 heaping teaspoon ground coriander
Green Tabasco Sauce to taste
1 pound tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cans chopped green chiles, drained
1 cup water
2 15-oz. cans Cannelli Beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions
1. Heat oil over medium heat in a 10-inch skillet. Add garlic, onion, jalapenos, cumin, and coriander. Cook, stirring often until onions are lightly golden, about 7 – 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in 5- to 6-quart pot, combine tomatillos, sea salt, sugar, vegetable broth, green chilies, Green Tabasco sauce, and water. Heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low. Stir in the onion mixture and cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Stir in beans and cilantro until beans are heated through.

Served with fresh bread from our local bakery, Bakers on Broad, and a green salad, I think our taste buds and belies will be satisfied!

Fried Green Tomato Bonanza

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Here’s some Fried Green Tomato Pillows from Mollie Katzen’s Vegetable Heaven M. made today from our own green toms.  Yummy and hearty!  She used water instead of the milk the recipe calls for, and put three small eggs instead of two large ones.  I dipped mine into our homemade, local (red!) tomato ketchup.  Mollie Katzen suggests topping with sour cream or yogurt.

Fried Green Tomato Pillows

1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne
1 cup milk (we used water)
2 large eggs
a little oil or butter for the pan

Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and cayenne in a bowl and mix.  Make a well in the center.

In a separate bowl, beat milk and eggs until frothy; pour into the well in the center of the flour mixture.  Stir until thoroughly combined, but don’t overmix.

Core the tomatoes and cut them into 1/2-inch rounds.  Begin heating oil or butter in a skillet over medium heat.

Add the tom slices to the batter one by one, pushing them around gently with a spoon until well coated.  Add gently to hot skillet.  (You may want to add batter to the top of each tom to avoid bald spots.)  Fry on both sides untl crispy and golden, and serve hot.

CSA Report:  Blooming Glen Farm

Thursday, September 17, 2009

(Click photo to read notes at flick’r regarding names/quantities of share.)

The Blooming Glen Farm farmers gifted us with green tomatoes, tomatillos, arugula and butternut squash this week.  More potatoes, onions, peppers, garlic and greens were also waiting for us.  The weather may be cooling down, but we still had fresh herbs to pick, and even managed to put together a wild flower bouquet.

I’m excited to make a batch of Nanny’s (our farmer Tricia’s grandmother) green tomato relish with those tomatoes.  I’ve used this recipe for the last couple years and just love it. The quantities are to produce a big batch for canning (about 10 to 12 pint jars), so adjust as needed.

Nanny’s Green Tomato Relish

Put through chopper (or chop by hand), and drain:
1 peck green tomatoes (roughly 20apple size)
6 large onions
6 green peppers
6 red peppers

Make syrup:
3/4 pint sugar
2 pints vinegar
1 T whole cloves, in cloth or tea ball
1 stick cinnamon
Boil about 20 minutes, until sugar is dissolved, remove cinnamon stick and cloves.

In a big pot, pour syrup over over relish and add:
1 T Salt
1 T celery seed
1 T mustard seed
Boil 15 minutes, then process in boiling water canner for 15 minutes.

It’s always a treat to open a can of this sweet, crunchy and colorful relish in the dark days of winter!

Stuffed Vegetables

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Now that it’s cooler here and all my peppers are ripening at the same time, it seemed appropriate to mix up some good stuff and get stuffing. Like many gardeners, my peppers did not grow into nice, upright specimens. So, I laid them sideways and that worked just fine. Most of the stuffing was local and in fact used up bits and pieces of other items in the fridge: parsley and dill, some roasted tomato sauce I’d made, a few diced mushrooms, sauteed onion, pine nuts, tiny cubes of leftover cheeses, basmati rice (I soaked it for 15 mins. first), and some bacon. I coated the bottom of the casserole with olive oil, poured in about a half-inch of water, and covered the dish for half the baking time of 1hr 15mins. The next day, I made a similar filling (handful of currants added and walnuts instead of pine nuts) with small eggplant.

September Issue of Grid - Farm to Philly Pepper Recipes

Thursday, September 03, 2009

The September issue of Grid magazine is hitting the free newsstands today - rush out and find yourself a copy! Newly expanded to 48 pages and with a “Back to School” theme, this issue covers everything from earth friendly clothing, packed lunches, childhood nutrition education, and mattress recycling. A crew from Farm to Philly contributed recipes featuring the seasonal, and prolific,  pepper. Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Fresh Basil and Goat Cheese Ravioli with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce, and Lamb Stuffed Peppers - yum!

Come and celebrate the new issue tonight at the Abbaye (637 N. 3rd St.) from 5-7pm for a special Grid happy hour. 1/2 price appetizers, $2 off of draft beers, and all kinds of good folks!

We’re in Grid Again! August issue

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Farm to Philly represents once again in the August issue of Grid Philly magazine. (Unfortunately, they gave all the credit to me and Nicole and left out Kevin.) Check it out online or look for free copies in independent shops around town.

I Can Can!  Now What?

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Despite my recent success in canning, I realize that I am not content.  I know how to can, but I don’t know how it’s going to taste.  I’ve grasped the specific techniques of canning, so the food will not (or, at least, should not) spoil, but how will it taste months from now?  Will I open a jar of pickled onions in December and smile – or grimace?

At this point, I’ve come to the conclusion that there isn’t much to be done.  First, I suspect that I am overreacting, and that everything I’ve canned will be “good” if not “fantastic.”  Second, this is the first time I’ve attempted to comprehensively preserve food for the winter, so I should allow some room for improvement.  Thus, with the intention of noting (on this blog, no less), the results and with an eye to improving things next year,  I look at this as “Canning: Phase One,” mastering technique.  Next year, it will be “Canning: Phase Two,” enhancing flavor. 

Having said that, I am not entirely content to simply “preserve.” As we’ve canned, we’ve tried to appropriately flavor the fruits and vegetables, but that wasn’t the main focus.  With the following recipe, however, we were much more conscious of that.  I suppose this makes sense: as you grasp the basics of technique, you turn your attention to the more subtle – and difficult – task of taste.
 
For these pickles, we made some changes to the original, and the results are as follows.

Canned Pickles

6 pint jars, rings, and lids
6 medium cucumbers
1 bunch of dill, separated into individual fronds
4 cloves garlic, sliced into slivers
5 cups water
2 1/2 cups white vinegar
2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
dried chilies (optional)

1.  Cut the cucumbers into spears.  Be sure to cut them short enough to fit into the jars.  (Once I trimmed the ends, I found that cutting the cucumbers in half, crosswise, created the appropriate length.)
Fill a large bowl with cold water and 2 teaspoons salt, stir to dissolve the salt, and add the cucumbers.  Allow to sit for at least one hour.
2.  In large stock pot or canning pot (We used a stockpot with the pasta insert), cover the jars, lids, and rings in cold water and slowly bring to a boil.  Remove from the heat. 
3.  Meanwhile, bring the water, 2 tablespoons of salt, peppercorns, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil and remove from the heat.
4.  First, drain the cucumbers. Then, set up your workspace: have the pot of sterilized jars, brine, tongs, funnel, dill fronds, cucumbers easily accessible.  (We tend to clear the kitchen table and have everything set up right there, laying out newspaper on which we pack the hot, sterilized jars.) 
5.  Layer in the cucumbers, dill, garlic, and chilies (if desired) in each of the pint jars.  Using the funnel, add the brine until within one half-inch of the top.  Cover each jar with a sterilized lid, place the ring over the lid, tighten it, and then loosen it one quarter-turn.  Place the jars back into the stock pot or canning pot and slowly bring the pot to a simmer for ten minutes. 
6.  Remove the jars from the water bath and allow to cool.  Within an hour, you should hear the jars “pop” as they cool and seal.  Once cooled, check the seal by removing the ring and lifting the jar a few inches by the lid.  If the lid remains in place, the jar is sealed.

We’ve Still Got Beets! and a great way to enjoy them

Friday, July 24, 2009

As everyone on the mid-Atlantic region knows, we’re still eating beets from our CSA! Cooler temperatures this summer meant that I got two big bunches in my box this week. I LOVE beets, so eating them is no problem for me, but I’m always looking for new ways to make them more palatable for folks who might not be so sure about them. This week when my friend Mike came over to reset some complicated internet gizmo that went off-kilter after a lightening storm, I made him this roasted beet pizza. I was excited to use candy onion and beautiful Chioggia beets and their greens from my CSA, rosemary from my garden, and low-fat feta purchased at my neighborhood middle eastern market. Even though I might have left it in the oven a little too long, he liked it. We ate it with a salad of fresh heirloom tomatoes (my first of the CSA season!) with mango, salt and balsamic. Savory -sweet, just like the pizza!

If you’d like my recipe, you can get it here!

Whole wheat pizza margherita

Sunday, July 19, 2009

This the perfect time of the season to make pizza. Later in the summer I’ll have enough tomatoes for sauce, but for a simple pie, all you need are fresh tomato slices, good mozzarella, and basil. I crumbled some thyme and oregano on there, too, and as you can see below, I used cherry tomatoes w/reasonable success. I don’t have a pizza stone and all that gear—it works well enough for me baking on a piece of parchment paper directly on the rack.

Canned At Last: Sour Cherries In Syrup

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

I don’t know why it took me so long to can.  Despite websites, books, and blogs, I still didn’t have enough information.  Despite the urging of friends, fellow CSA members, and writers here, I still didn’t have enough confidence.  Despite, even, a family tradition of canning whole, skinned tomatoes and tomato sauce (i.e., “gravy”), I still didn’t have an urge to try it on my own.  Yes, I did have an irrational fear of botulism, but, looking back, I think the real concern was drudgery.  In my family, canning tomatoes required a dozen people, two stoves (plus a free-standing gas burner), innumerable bushels of tomatoes, and about twelve hours of your day (sometimes two).  Of course, at our peak, we canned well over 1,000 quarts. 

Recently, we were “burdened” (I use the term loosely) with three quarts of sour cherries.  Even after we gorged on them and my wife made ice cream, we were still left with a quart.  Having a bowl of lush, vibrantly red cherries staring at me and knowing that it would soon rot, I conquered my last reservations about canning. 

I am exaggerating a little, as I had been reading the River Cottage Field Guide 2: Preserves.  With straightforward explanations, beautiful pictures, interesting recipes, and an oddly-British nonchalance about the risk of food-born illness, it was a sufficient motivator on its own.  Coupled with the cherries, I had no more excuse.  One caveat: the guide uses the metric system measurements, so you will have to do your own conversions. 

We preserved these cherries as a “bottled fruit:” we packed the cherries (still with their pits) in a light syrup (made by bringing honey and water to a boil) with some spices (whole cloves or cinnamon sticks) into sterilized jars, and then we put them in a water bath for 10 minutes.  We allowed them to cool for twenty-four hours, all the while listening for the distinctive “pop” that means the jars have sealed.  (Happily, they did.) 

I was surprised at how simple the process was, and how little equipment we actually needed.  We used a large stock pot with its pasta insert (filled with cold water), a saucier, a scale, a candy thermometer, and a pair of canning tongs designed for picking up scalding-hot jars.  This last item may seem unnecessary, and I was certainly skeptical, but it was immensely useful for pulling jars out of boiling water.  (We picked up our pair at a flea market for $5.)  But that’s all - no pressure cooker, no canning pot, and no need for additional storage. 

This experience was so pleasant that we’ve also canned beets, onions, and fennel.  We still have plans for chutney, bottled peaches, plum jam, apple jam, caramelized onions, and, of course, tomatoes.  We won’t be canning a 1,000 quarts anytime soon, though.

CSA report Lancaster Farm Fresh

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

1 head green cabbage – certified organic – Goshen View Organics
4 green zucchini – certified organic – Autumn Blend Organics
2 green slicing cucumbers – certified organic – Elm Tree Organics
1 bunch Detroit red beets – certified organic – Farmdale Organics
1 bunch dandelion greens – certified organic – Hillside Organics
1 bunch shallots – certified organic – Busy Bee Acres
1 bunch Swiss chard – certified organic – Organic Willow Acres
1 head green leaf lettuce – certified organic – Back 40 Ranch

This week’s Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA offered a few new items. I’m not wild about the bitterness of Dandelion Greens, but I’m willing to give them a try. We got some beautiful zucchinis and bumpy slicing cucumbers, and more beets! I’m still not tired of them. Last week I tried a new recipe from http://www.epicurious.com (originally in the Sept. 1998 Gourmet) that utilized both the beets and the greens. I added extra horseradish for more kick and loved the rich color. I’ve reprinted the recipe below.

Beet and Beet Green Risotto with Horseradish

  *  1 small onion
  * 1 pound red beets with greens (about 3 medium)
  * 4 cups water
  * 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
  * 1 cup Arborio or long-grain rice
  * 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 1 1/2 ounces)
  * 1 tablespoon bottled horseradish

Finely chop onion and trim stems close to tops of beets. Cut greens into 1/4-inch-wide slices and chop stems. Peel beets and cut into fine dice. In a small saucepan bring water to a simmer and keep at a bare simmer.

In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook onion in butter over moderate heat until softened. Add beets and stems and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Stir in rice and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Stir in 1 cup simmering water and cook, stirring constantly and keeping at a strong simmer, until absorbed. Continue cooking at a strong simmer and adding water, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition be absorbed before adding next. After 10 minutes, stir in greens and continue cooking and adding water, about 1/2 cup at a time, in same manner until rice is tender and creamy-looking but still al dente, about 8 minutes more. (There may be water left over.) Remove pan from heat and stir in Parmesan.

Serve risotto topped with horseradish.

A Pair of Confessions

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

I have two confessions to make.  First, while I dearly love my CSA, I find the first (and last) weeks rather challenging.  By challenging, I mean that the variety of vegetables is rather narrow, consisting largely of greens.  I know greens are good for me, and that, as one of my CSA members pointed out, a little bacon can do wonders.  However, at some point, you start craving variety –in texture, flavor, and even simply color. 

Second – and this only seems unrelated – while I love Mark Bittman and his cookbooks and columns, I find some of his recipes too simple.  I know he is called “The Minimalist” for a reason, but sometimes I think the more accurate title would be “The Incompletist.” 

These two confessions came to a head one recent Sunday when my wife and I were faced with a refrigerator full of kale, swiss chard, spinach, and green onions.  Knowing that the greens would soon be headed for the compost (and feeling extraordinarily guilty about that), we turned to Bittman’s The Best Recipes in the World.  Not surprisingly, given the encyclopedic nature of the book, we found a solution: croquettes.  The fried texture, coupled with the cheese, provided welcome relief from all of the simple, sauteed greens we’d been eating lately.  The recipe seemed simple enough, but we were forced to make several adjustments as we went. 

Early- and Late- Season Croquettes

2 lbs. leaves of mixed greens (Spinach, Kale, Swiss Chard, etc.)
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup cow’s milk cheese, grated (I would use a raw-milk cheddar)
2/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs, plus extra
Salt and Pepper
Oil or butter

1.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Salt the water and then add the greens.  If you are using a mix of greens, add them in order of coarseness (i.e., start with kale, end with spinach).  Cook until just wilted, no more than a minute or ninety seconds.  Drain thoroughly, gently pressing the leaves against the sides of the colander.  Allow the greens to cool, and then roughly chop.
2.  In a mixing bowl, combine the greens, onion, eggs, cheese, pepper, and approximately half of the breadcrumbs.  If the mixture is too wet to form cakes, gradually add more bread crumbs until it is possible to mold the mixture.  Form small patties, roughly the size of a small hamburger, and set aside.
3.  Put a plate in the oven and set the oven to low heat.  Over medium heat, cover the bottom of a cast-iron skillet or nonstick pan with oil or butter.  Add a few of the cakes to the pan, being careful not to overcrowd it.  (The amount of cakes you add depends on the size of the pan.)  Cook for approximately five minutes, or until browned, flip the cakes and cook an additional five minutes to brown the other side.  Remove the cakes to the plate in the oven and continue with the next batch.  Repeat until cakes are cooked.

Red Earth Farm CSA weeks 2, 3, 4

Friday, June 26, 2009

I’m not doing too well with the CSA updates! I tend to get repetitious with the vegetables I order so that I know that my 3 year old will eat at least some of them. Over the past 3 weeks we’ve gotten:

3 bunches Swiss Chard
3 small yellow squash
4 medium zucchini
2 bunches green onions
1 bunch green garlic
4 red tropea onions
3 pints snap peas
1 bunch red russian kale
1 bunch beets
1 bunch basil
2 bags garlic scapes
3 heads of baby Pak Choy

We were supposed to get cherries and a dozen eggs through our fruit and egg shares last week but didn’t. Hopefully they’ll make up for that later in the season. We also ordered two quarts of Pequea Valley Farms Yogurt- plain and strawberry through the buying club, and now that it’s summer we can pick up our meat order from Meadow Run at the same site as our Red Earth Farm pickup in Roxborough instead of driving to Mt. Airy to get it.

To make room for the new vegetables I made Zucchini Fritters with a side of snap peas for dinner the other night. The zucchini fritters are a summer favorite since they don’t heat up the kitchen too much. The snap pea recipe is one I modified from the recipe I submitted to the June/July issue of Grid Magazine. I substituted green garlic for the green onions.

Zucchini-Bacon Fritters

1 medium zucchini, grated (Red Earth Farm)
2 spring onions, chopped, including 1-inch of the green parts (Red Earth Farm)
Six slices thick cut bacon (Meadow Run Farm)
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 egg, slightly beaten (Meadow Run Farm)
1 and 1/2 tbs. maple syrup
1/2 tsp salt
black pepper to taste

Use a kitchen towel to squeeze as much of the moisture out of the zucchini as you can.

Pan fry,  or cook the bacon in the microwave between paper towels to soak up grease, for about five minutes or until crisp.

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Crumble the bacon into the mixing bowl adding the other ingredients. Mix to combine. Mixture will not seem like it will hold together, but it will. I forgot to drain the zucchini and the mix was very wet, but it still worked.

Heat a non-stick skillet on medium heat, sprayed with cooking spray. (Or use the pan that you fried the bacon in.) Spoon batter into the skillet about a tablespoon at a time for small fritters. Flatten slightly to cook. Cook each batch about 2 minutes per side, til golden and cooked through. Makes about 10 small fritters or 6-8 medium. Serve with sour cream or plain yogurt.

Sugar Snap Peas with Bacon and Green Garlic

4 slices thick cut bacon (Meadow Run Farm)
2-3 spring garlic, chopped small (Red Earth Farm)
1 pint sugar snap peas (Red Earth Farm)
1/4 cup cold water
Salt and pepper

Brown bacon in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Crumble when cool. Remove all but a tablespoon of drippings from the pan, add garlic and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add sugar snap peas and water to the pan, lower heat to medium low, cover and cook for 3 minutes. Uncover and cook off most of the remaining liquid. Stir in crumbled bacon and remove from heat. Salt and pepper to taste.